Divorce Overview

If you are seeking a divorce, you may not know where to start, or you may feel overwhelmed by the process. A great way to start is to visit the California Courts’s website which can provide you with the forms you need.

While do-it-yourself divorces may be acceptable in some situations, most people should consider hiring an attorney to represent their interests. There are many forms to fill out and the process can be very overwhelming. If your situation has issues or problems making the divorce hard to cope with, hiring an attorney is the best option.

Besides dealing with complicated issues, there are other reasons why hiring an attorney might be best. They can give you expert advice on dealing with your divorce as well as make for a clear and binding agreement between you and your spouse.

Some frequent issues to consider in a divorce matter include:

Property Division: Does the house have to be sold? How will the proceeds be divided? Who will live there temporarily or permanently? Who will need to pay the mortgage?

This division applies to other real property investments such as rental properties, vacation homes as well as other assets such as pension/retirement accounts, jewelry, boats, furniture, and debts including loans and credit cards.

Custody: Who will have physical, legal, sole or joint custody of minor children? Who will have the ultimate decision-making control on major issues? Are there issues in which there can be mutual agreement?

The four main types of custody are as follows:
 

          Legal: Major decisions regarding medical, educational and religious issues fall under legal custody. Examples include school choice, location of residence medical treatments, religious beliefs and church attendance. Parents with legal custody may have sole or joint legal custody.             

          Physical: Physical custody refers to where the child lives. This type of custody has more to do with where the child technically spends his or her time and takes residence, as opposed to which parent makes legal decisions on the child's behalf. Parents with physical custody may also have sole or joint physical custody.

          Sole: One parent is responsible for making all decisions regarding the child without needing input from the other parent. Parents can either have sole legal custody, sole physical custody or both in this case.

          Joint:This type of custody is granted equally to both spouses. It can take the form of joint legal custody, joint physical custody or both. Both parents have the authority to make major decisions regarding their child. Children in a joint physical custody arrangement have two residences and spend an equal amount of time with each parent. In some situations, the time spend with each parent will vary.

Visitation /Parenting Plan: How will visitation by the non-custodial parent be carried out? What about during the weekdays, weekends, school years, summer vacations, holidays, and birthdays? How can the parenting time be shared so each parent has time with the child?

Are you seeking a qualified family law attorney? Call the Santa Barbara County Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service to find the right lawyer to help. (805) 565-9400